People around town are putting together their summer reading lists. I don’t dare commit to anything so definite as an actual X Number of Books in X Number of Weeks plan, but I have been doing a little list-making (heh, at first I typed “listing,” which is maybe more accurate) of my own lately. There are several new or newish or not really all that new middle-grade and YA novels I’ve been meaning to read but haven’t gotten around to for one reason or another.

Here’s the list so far. (And the reason it’s not a Summer Reading list is that I am putting no timetable on it—none, do you hear me? None! I might have five more babies before I get to the bottom of this list, for all I know.)

Comments

Olive’s Ocean: I love the Kevin Henkes books for children, like Chrysanthamum and Lily and the Purple Plastic Purse, but I couldn’t get through twenty pages of Olive’s Ocean. All the chapter’s are one or two very small pages long, and the story is very awkward.

This series is classic and I can’t imagine that you haven’t read them, but I’ve never seen them listed in your booklists, so I thought I’d mention The Borrowers. I was absolutely captivated by the whimsy of these stories as a child and I still wholeheartedly believe in Borrowers to this day. 🙂

I can’t really recommend anything because I’m sure your knowledge of books worth reading far passes mine. 🙂 However, I wanted to comment on The Bartimaeus Trilogy. I listened to these on CD and they were absolutely fantastic. (I got hooked on the series after listening to the first book on an 11-hour drive by myself.) If you’re open to doing that, I highly recommend the audio version.

I would like to second Jane’s recommendation of The Princess Academy. Who’da thunk a book with that title could be so good?

I also liked Funke’s Ink books. I didn’t like some of her earlier works but think you should give Inkheart a try.

For those who aren’t put off by Christian messages (though these books are not preachy–no they are very much fun)you should try The Wilderking Trilogy by Jonathan Rogers. Fun fantasy. In fact, I’m running a contest right now on my site for a free, autographed set, if anyone is interested. But it only runs for two more days. Whether you enter the contest or not, give the books a try. I believe the feechies are a breed that will be long remembered in chidlren’s literature.

Now I’ve got to go read the The Bartimaeus Trilogy. I’ve had it on my self forever but have never opened it. Too many books, not enough time. But several people have recommended The Bartimaeus Trilogy so I’ve got to give it a go.

I know it won a Newbery but I am not a huge fan of Olive’s Ocean. Henkes’s novels are just so…s-e-r-i-o-u-s. Hard to imagine that his novels and Lily are written by the same person. Still, one tiny part of the book puts “know-nothings” knickers in a twist so maybe it is good to know what all the hoopla is about.

I’ve read all the Gregor, all the Percy Jackson(Lightning Theif), Olive’s Ocean, and the entire Bartimaeus Trilogy. The Gregor books are awesome and there are now 4. The sequal to The Lightning Thief came out and it’s called The Sea of Monsters. Olive’s Ocean was one of the previous Blue Bonnet books. (That’s for Texas children books) And the Bartmaeus Trilogy is so good it beats Harry Potter!